Dezi Freeman: Never-before-seen photos reveal alleged cop killers' survival skills, keeping him at large

Never-before-seen photographs have pulled back the curtain on the secret life of the alleged fugitive cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Freeman, 56, is accused of fatally shooting policemen Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart at a property in Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, on August 26 before escaping into bushland.

The newly discovered images show how Freeman spent decades honing his survival skills in the bush, the same skills that have kept him one step ahead of police as the manhunt continues.

The photographs paint a chilling portrait of the father of three as a self-styled bushman. Freeman can be seen shirtless, kayaking through a river, scaling trees barefoot, and even wrangling a snake.

It has been reported by friends of Freeman that he never packed camping supplies such as an esky on camping trips and would simply vanish into the wilderness, living of his wits and knowledge of the land.

“Dezi doesn’t go to Anaconda and stock up,” a friend told Daily Mail.

“There are no tents or eskies full of food or any creature comforts at all.

“He just walks into the bush and that’s it.”

The manhunt is now in its fourth week, with no confirmed sightings since the morning of August 26th, when police descended on Freeman’s Porepunkah property to execute a routine search warrant over historic sexual assault charges.

At around 10am, ten Victorian police officers surrounded the converted bus Freeman shared with his wife, Mali and their two children.

Freeman refused to unlock the door, resulting in officers forcing entry. The situation drastically escalated as officers gained access through a window of the bus.

Two shots rang out, instantly killing the two police officers and injuring a third. It has been reported that Freeman grabbed the fallen officer’s weapons before disappearing into the bush — and has not been seen since.

A life built for escape

Freeman’s skills are what the police believe led him to be on the run for this long, in addition to Freeman’s obsession with martial arts, which has been well documented.

The self-trained survivalist achieved a black belt in Zen Do Kai, a freestyle combat system blending karate, boxing, Muay Thai and jiu jitsu.

Despite a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture, Freeman has continued to elude more than 125 specialist officers.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Russell Barrett described the effort as one of the most complex operations in Victoria police history.

“This included incredibly rugged areas; they were crawling through caves, they were traversing rivers and falls, they were searching plantations and gorges,” Deputy Commissioner Barrett said on Friday.

“If we think about Freeman and what he’s capable of, every step must be taken really, really carefully when you consider what might be confronting you.

“This is an incredibly challenging moment in Victoria Police’s history.”